Our Work

Our Work

Introduction

OUR MISSION IS TO MAKE LONDON THE BEST CITY IN THE WORLD IN WHICH TO DO BUSINESS, WORKING WITH AND FOR THE WHOLE UK.

At BusinessLDN (spoken as Business London), we work to deliver the bigger picture, campaigning to tackle today’s challenges and secure the future promise of London.

From exploring the future of London’s built environment to campaigning for businesses during unprecedented crises, BusinessLDN finds sustainable solutions that work for Londoners and the economy across our focus areas of Connectivity, People, Place, Sustainability and Competitiveness.

We do this by bringing together the right people, at the right place, at the right time. We share our insights on the city’s inner workings, convene members and stakeholders, and create new policy thinking. We link up with other cities around the UK to ensure the capital supports a thriving country.

As we look to the future, our focus will ensure London remains competitive by affirming London’s place in the UK and the world. We will face the immediate challenges of economic volatility to support businesses to accelerate growth while working with the Government to achieve a successful levelling up agenda for London and the UK. 

Read our 2023/24 Business Plan

People

London is where businesses comes to find a diverse pool of talent and people come to find opportunity. But the London labour market is suffering from acute shortages at a time when it also has a relatively high unemployment rate, with the latter disproportionately affecting the young, Black and minoritised groups. Supporting young people into jobs, encouraging economically inactive workers into the labour market and reskilling people of all ages are crucial to mitigating the cost-of-living crisis by getting people into available jobs and ensuring we emerge from any recession stronger. Our focus will continue to champion London’s diverse population to create a fairer and more equal capital. We are leading the London Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) to develop an ambitious blueprint for a data-driven skills system for the capital, and calling for Apprenticeship Levy reform; a new London careers service; and an immigration system that works for London’s economy. 

To find out more about our work on the People, contact Mark Hilton, Policy Delivery Director for Membership, or see here. 

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The London Local Skills Improvement Plan

The London Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) sets out a blueprint for getting more Londoners into better, higher-paying jobs by better matching training provision to employer demand.

Skills, Talent and Immigration

Just as London needs a reliable transport system which is properly funded with clear accountability, it must have a well-functioning, cohesive and easy to navigate skills system.

Inclusion and Diversity

London’s unparalleled diversity is a vital driving force behind the capital’s position as one of the best cities in the world to do business, and inclusion is central to keeping it that way.

Place

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IS THE BACKBONE OF THE CITY, AND PLANNING FOR ITS FUTURE IS VITAL TO MAINTAINING LONDON’S COMPETITIVE EDGE.

The capital’s places have undergone seismic shifts because of the pandemic: while the Central Activities Zone was hit hard by successive lockdowns because of its heavy reliance on commuters and tourist footfall, some local high streets have seen their fortunes rise.

As we unwind from the pandemic, many Londoners are choosing to work from home for at least some of the working week and patterns are still unsettled as we move to a new equilibrium – with unknown implications for demand for office space, public transport and inclusion and diversity.

Our work here spans: tackling London’s housing crisis; supporting the evolution and growth of commercial space; advocating for a quicker and simpler planning system to support growth; and ensuring the physical growth of the capital is supported by maintaining existing and delivering new infrastructure. Our work across these areas will help shape the future of London.

Learn more on our work on the Built Environment, contact Jonathan Seager, Policy Delivery Director for Research and Impact, or see here. 

London Shard Thames Place Commission.jpg

Place Commission

The Place Commission is reflecting on the role and function of London’s built environment and setting a fresh vision and agenda for it. 

Housing

The housing crisis that London faces is well documented, but there is no silver bullet to resolving the crisis.

Planning & Development 

BusinessLDN advocates for a planning system in London that is pro-growth to support our mission and maintain London’s reputation as a great place to work, live and play.

Commercial Property

Our work is focussed ensuring national and London policy is helping the commercial property market to evolve and grow.

Connectivity

A London that is well connected – physically and digitally — makes doing business cheaper, cleaner, and more efficient. It boosts productivity and therefore growth. We will bring the public and private sector together to harness the potential of data to help solve city-wide challenges, and our role on the Data for London Board tackles digital exclusion to identifying ways to boost tourism spending across the capital. We will also continue to advocate for the transport, digital and other infrastructure the capital needs – across the city, the UK and beyond – from securing the future of Transport for London and developing new funding models for critical projects to keeping roads moving and global travel open.

To find out more about our work on Connectivity, contact Dr Polyvios Polyviou, Programme Director for Transport, or see here. 

Borough Market

Coalition for International Travel 

BusinessLDN’s Coalition for International Travel brings together businesses from across sectors and cities to make a case for the role of global connectivity in the UK and the capital’s economic future. 

Sustainable Funding for Public Transport 

As the city recovers from the pandemic, we must look to the future of the transport network and ensure it can continue to travel commuters and visitors across the city.

London’s Data Charter 

The London Data Charter aims to guide future data collaborations between business and London’s government.

Infrastructure

Our infrastructure programme seeks to understand the specific challenges facing infrastructure funding and delivery across the capital.

Sustainability

London has an ambitious target to hit net-zero carbon by 2030, yet it produces 40% of all UK emissions. Our goal is to help successfully transition London to become a more sustainable and ultimately net-zero city, leading and driving best practices across the UK working with other cities. In doing so, our work will focus on supporting businesses to commit to and deliver on their ambitious sustainability targets, safeguarding the capital against the adverse impacts of climate change and ensuring that London is a world leader for green growth and jobs.

To find out more about our work on Sustainability, contact Ioanna Mytilinaiou, Programme Director for Sustainability, or see here.

Creating a greener city

In partnership with WSP, we published a set of recommendations to drive collaboration across public and private sector and support the capital and businesses toward their ambitious net zero targets. 

Retrofitting London’s owner-occupier homes 

We’ve published a 10-point action plan speaking to the main retrofitting challenges and calling for a bold package of measures to encourage homeowners to retrofit their homes, including a stamp duty rebate for energy efficiency investments.

A London-wide carbon offset fund

We’re exploring the feasibility of creating a London-wide Carbon Offset Business Fund which could be deployed for projects in the capital and beyond.

Competitiveness

Competitiveness is at the heart of our mission to make London the best place in the world to do business. It’s a cross-cutting theme, but we are stepping up our efforts to ensure the capital is an attractive place to invest, focusing on measures that support productivity, jobs & growth. The arrowhead for this work is ​‘London as a place to invest’, a project designed to shine a light on the investment location factors that Boards and investors prioritise and to highlight London’s performance against these factors. The project informs politicians and regulators about investment sentiment and the issues that make a difference for investment in the Capital, so that they are attuned to the business mood, place greater emphasis on these issues in the future and ultimately make London a place to invest & do business. 

To find out more about our work on Competitiveness, contact Matthew Fell, Director for Competitiveness, or see here.

Leveraging our submissions

Our submissions to the Chancellor ahead of fiscal events help to shape the right tax and regulatory environment, which is fundamental to competitiveness.

Empowering our members

We help our members navigate through uncertain times by sharing the latest economic insights through our quarterly briefing sessions with the Bank of England.